Authors:Maria Federica Moscati Abstract: In this article, I discuss how diversity shapes mediation when the latter is adopted for the purpose of resolving quarrels between family members, and I explore how mediation can become more inclusive to accommodate diversity and enhance equality. Diversity permeates how families are created, their structures and the relations within them. Similarly, diversity involves the roles that family members play within the family unit. There is also the diversity brought by the various social identities of the family members who are in dispute, and those identities in turn intersect with the family members’ identity as disputants. All these manifestations of diversity have an impact on the nature of family disputes and their resolution. However, the current institutional and professional approaches to mediation practice seem to oversimplify the nature of family, family relations, family disputes and family disputants, especially in terms of diversity. Thus, research and improvements in understanding and practice are needed to ensure that resolutions are reached respecting diversity and enhancing equality and inclusion. Here, I propose a contextualized and integrated approach that shapes mediation interventions in accordance with family diversity. Reflecting on diversity as it manifests in family relations and mediation will foster a renewed understanding of access to justice that builds upon kinship studies and intersectionality, whereby diversity, in all its manifestations, is a value. Keywords: family relations; diversity; inclusion; mediation. PubDate: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +000
Authors:Daniel Newman; Roxanna Dehaghani Abstract: England and Wales have seen court modernization programmes since 2010, which have led to nearly half of all courts closing. There has been a disproportionate impact on Wales, which has seen higher rates of court closures in comparison to England. This article explores the implications of these court closures by focusing on experiences in south Wales. The article draws on interviews with solicitors and barristers working in south Wales to further understand how court closures are impacting the communities that the courts serve and the people that use the courts. The court closures are shown to challenge access to justice, and there emerges a need for more study on the effects of court closures in Wales, and across the jurisdiction. Keywords: courts; court closures; Wales; austerity; lawyers PubDate: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +000
Authors:Pierre de Gioia Carabellese; Camilla Della Giustina Abstract: Not only is restorative justice (RJ) an increasingly developing area within scholarly debate, it is also a field where legislation is making significant progress. It is in statutes that practical solutions need to be sought out and eventually enshrined in law in order to accommodate individuals’ demands for justice. Therefore, in a scenario where the economic impact of a traditional judicial matter may “skyrocket” to egregious levels, RJ may well represent a new and alternative model for the judicial system. Against this backdrop, this article, first and foremost, discusses and analyses the history and evolution of RJ. Thereafter, attention is turned towards the most recent applications of RJ, such as for the resolution of family conflict. Keywords: restorative justice; legal costs; comparative analysis; United Kingdom; Scotland; Italy. PubDate: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +000
Authors:Luca Siliquini-Cinelli Abstract: This article sheds new light on Aristotle’s conception of voluntary corrective justice through an engagement with Peter Benson’s theory of transactional justice as expounded in his new work, Justice in Transactions: A Theory of Contract Law. Benson relates his theory of transactional justice to Aristotle’s conception of voluntary corrective justice. He also states that his theory “engages some fundamental themes and outstanding questions arising from Aristotle’s account” (2019: 30). The article provides a faithful reading of the nature and working logic of voluntary corrective justice as envisaged by Aristotle to argue that Benson neither thematizes the link between his theory and Aristotle’s conception of voluntary corrective justice, nor sheds new light on Aristotle’s thought on justice more generally. In fact, the article shows, Benson’s views on justice are incompatible with Aristotle’s. This is unfortunate, the article concludes, for Benson’s contract law theory is otherwise fascinating and analytically coherent. Keywords: contract law; transactional justice; Aristotle; corrective justice; Peter Benson. PubDate: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +000
Authors:Lewis Ross Abstract: Researchers face perennial difficulties in studying live jury deliberation. As a result, the academic community struggles to reach a consensus on key matters of legal reform concerning jury trials. The hurdles faced by empirical jury researchers are often legal or institutional. This note argues that the legal and institutional barriers preventing live deliberation research should be removed and discusses two forms that live deliberation research could take. Keywords: jury research; jury trial; criminal procedure; live deliberation research; rape myths. PubDate: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +000
Authors:Amy Kellam Abstract: This article explores the symbolic aspects of the execution of Captain William Kidd during the Golden Age of Piracy, focusing on the visual messages conveyed. Examining the social-cultural milieu of the gallows in England circa 1700, it reveals the unique aspects of Kidd’s execution and its implications for colonial dynamics and trade governance. By delving into the intended audiences and multifaceted messages behind these executions, the article sheds light on the intertwined dynamics of piracy, colonialism, and trade governance and their impact on the evolving global order. Keywords: law of piracy; Captain William Kidd; early eighteenth century; public executions; Admiralty Sessions; gibbeting. PubDate: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +000
Authors:Faye F Wang Abstract: Since the 2010s, artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly grown from another subset of machine learning (ie deep learning) in particular with recent advances in generative AI, such as ChatGPT. The use of generative AI has gone beyond leisure purposes. It has now been widely used to generate music, news articles and image-based art works. This prompts a regulatory interpretation as to how AI-generated works should be appropriately used to eliminate their potential harm to society, but at the same time how it should be protected to foster human creativity and promote a well-functioning market. This article is an update from the author’s evidential report and speech on “AI and Intellectual Property Rights: IPR Protection for AI-Created Work” for the evidence meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence on 24 January 2022. It considers whether AI technologies should be granted status as copyright or patent owners by looking into existing regulations in the United Kingdom, European Union, United States and China. It further considers how generative AI copyright protection should be managed in the digital society to protect users and strike a fair balance among rightsholders. It argues that it would be beneficial to a well-functioning market if AI-generated works could be subject to collective management of copyright via copyright management organizations within countries. In addition, the article provides mapping of existing legislations in a comparative study and their interpretation for the application of AI-generated works protection and aims to bring together global policymakers and stakeholders to initiate joint efforts to promote international harmonization on intellectual property rights (IPR) protection for AI-generated works. Keywords: artificial intelligence; generative AI; AI-generated works; collective copyright management; computer-generated work; copyright protection. PubDate: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +000
Authors:Simon McDougall Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) regulation is in vogue, with proposals around the world to regulate AI as an activity separate to other types of data processing. This article argues that this approach is problematic, given the difficulties in defining AI. It notes that the more laissez-faire approach of the United Kingdom (UK) risks subsequent hasty legislation being introduced when innovative applications of AI cause moral panic. The article proposes a way forward, utilizing the UK’s existing data protection framework to accelerate the shift to meaningful regulation. This approach leverages the substantial overlap between data protection regulation and the risks of AI and enables greater regulatory certainty and effectiveness by expanding the scope and powers of an existing regulator—the Information Commissioner’s Office—rather than creating something from scratch. Doing so mitigates the challenges of defining AI by focusing instead on the risks presented to individuals, organizations and society by all automated decision-making. Finally, the article notes that the speed of change in this area will require ongoing agility from all the bodies involved in digital regulation in the UK and outlines the potential for the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum to support its member regulators. Keywords: artificial intelligence; data protection; innovation; technology. PubDate: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +000
Open Access journal
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